Scaling Laws of Scientific Discovery with AI and Robot Scientists

The rapid evolution of scientific inquiry highlights an urgent need for groundbreaking methodologies that transcend the limitations of traditional research. Conventional approaches, bogged down by manual processes and siloed expertise, struggle to keep pace with the demands of modern discovery. We envision an autonomous generalist scientist (AGS) system-a fusion of agentic AI and embodied robotics-that redefines the research lifecycle. This system promises to autonomously navigate physical and digital realms, weaving together insights from disparate disciplines with unprecedented efficiency. By embedding advanced AI and robot technologies into every phase-from hypothesis formulation to peer-ready manuscripts-AGS could slash the time and resources needed for scientific research in diverse field. We foresee a future where scientific discovery follows new scaling laws, driven by the proliferation and sophistication of such systems. As these autonomous agents and robots adapt to extreme environments and leverage a growing reservoir of knowledge, they could spark a paradigm shift, pushing the boundaries of what's possible and ushering in an era of relentless innovation.

@article{zhang2025_2503.22444,
  title={ Scaling Laws of Scientific Discovery with AI and Robot Scientists },
  author={ Pengsong Zhang and Heng Zhang and Huazhe Xu and Renjun Xu and Zhenting Wang and Cong Wang and Animesh Garg and Zhibin Li and Arash Ajoudani and Xinyu Liu },
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.22444},
  year={ 2025 }
}